The pictorial creations by American artist Cy Twombly have represented, for more than 50 years, a sort of enigma that reinforces the mythic status of the artist. This book, takes into consideration Twombly’s immense and complex body of work from the 1950s up through his current works, offers a thematic and chronological interpretation of his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and collages. Richard Leeman’s study elucidates the symbols found in Twombly’s paintings―pictograms, numbers, words, colors―that, at first glance, constitute diverse and unique entities, but then assemble to form a veritable language, where their often primitive forms mix on the canvas with allusive fragments of a vast culture. From scribbles and drawings to words, Twombly’s work profoundly articulates a language and memory of desire where painting, drawing, and writing meld into a single art form.

This exquisitely produced volume, complete with six gatefolds, is an important addition to the existing bibliography of works on one of America’s preeminent contemporary artists.

Exhibition Schedule

“Cy Twombly: Fifty Years of Works on Paper”

Whitney Museum of Art: January 27—May 8, 2005

Menil Collection, Houston, TX: May 27—September 4, 2005